The present invention relates to a method of depositing a patterned layer of material over a substrate or organizing material, such as organic molecules, over a substrate. The present invention also relates to a stamp that may be used in depositing a patterned layer of material over a substrate and a method of forming such a stamp.
Conventional lithography is limited in resolution by the wavelength of the incident light. Xerography is limited in resolution by the wavelength of light as well. In the art of xerography, patterning is performed by uniformly electrostatically charging a photoconductive layer and discharging the photoconductive layer by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation, such as light. Photoconductor conductivity is changed by the incidence of laser light into a desired pattern.
E-beam lithography is capable of producing higher definition patterning than xerography but has drawbacks in that it is generally a slow process performed serially on wafers and is generally not efficient for large scale applications.
While the above patterning methods are acceptable in certain circumstances, a method of patterning in which nano-scale patterns may be obtained by a process that may be used in large scale applications, is desirable.
The present invention provides a method of depositing a patterned layer of material over a substrate. In the method of the present invention a stamp is used to transfer material from a solution to a substrate or to organize molecules over a substrate in a specified pattern. In the method, the stamp is immersed in a solution and electrically biased so as to attract molecules to the stamp in a determined pattern. The molecules are then transferred to a substrate. The stamp may be used multiple times to transfer a similar pattern of the material to multiple substrates or to different portions of the same substrate by the stamp. The transferred material may then be preferably used as a photolithographic mask for nano-patterning the substrate.
Also provided are a stamp having a conductive pathway and an insulating layer and a method of forming such a stamp.